Open a form to report problems or contribute information

1
Introduction 2
Message details 3
Upload file 4
Submitted

Page 1 of 4

Help and advice for England and Wales:- Census

If you have found a problem on this page then please report it on the following form. We will then do our best to fix it. If you are wanting advice then the best place to ask is on the area's specific email lists. All the information that we have is in the web pages, so please do not ask us to supply something that is not there. We are not able to offer a research service.

If you wish to report a problem, or contribute information, then do use the following form to tell us about it. We have a number of people each maintaining different sections of the web site, so it is important to submit information via a link on the relevant page otherwise it is likely to go to the wrong person and may not be acted upon.

Leave this field blank

England and Wales:- Census

In the lists below PTV (Pay To View) is used generally to indicate sites that charge (either per view or by subscription) for images of the original documents or for full transcripts. These sites may provide basic details via free indexes.

There has been a census every ten years since 1801, excluding 1941. However, only those that date from 1841 are of real value to the family historian. The administration of the early census returns 1801-1831 was the responsibility of the Overseers of the Poor and the clergy.

Most of these early returns were unfortunately destroyed, although in some isolated instances they have been preserved. The census returns for 1841 were the first to be kept and, as far as the general public is concerned, the information is released after a hundred years. For example, the public were given access to the 1891 census returns in January 1992.

The 1841 census was different from the previous censuses in two important respects. Firstly, the administration passed into the hands of the Registrar General and the Superintendant Registrars, who were responsible for the registration of births, marriages and deaths. Many recent reforms, including the 1836 General Registration Act, which had culminated in the introduction of civil registration had resulted in a new layer of central and local government.

When the 1841 census was being prepared, it was seen as a logical step that it should also supervise the census. Consequently, civil registration and census taking became inter-related; any change in local boundaries or districts affected them both.

Secondly, the emphasis changed from questions concerned with population size, and the numbers engaged in certain occupations and the condition of the housing stock, to a much more detailed analysis of individuals and families, and the communities in which they lived.

The information recorded on individuals has tended to increase with each census. The information collected in each census is detailed on (internet archive copy) this GenDocs page.

In 1851, in addition to the census of population a census was taken of places of worship. Although this was purely voluntary, most places of Worship made returns. This Ecclesiastical Census of 1851 is described by The National Archives in Discovery and the returns have been made available (free online) as part of the Digital Microfilm Project.

(WW2 National Registration) Now available to the public, details below

8 April

1951

23 April

1961

25 April

1971

5 April

1981

21 April

1991

29 April

2001

Census returns are held at:

The National Archives

For England and Wales only

District Libraries, County Record Offices and FHS research rooms

normally have copies of the returns for their own area

LDS

have copies of the census microfilms. These usually need to be ordered unless you are visiting a branch of the LDS in the same area as the returns in which you are interested.

It is advisable before making a trip to a library or record office, to check the exact whereabouts of specific census returns in order to avoid a wasted visit. Also some libraries may have a limited number of viewers and a booking may be necessary.

1841 (6 June)

Some local indexes exist - see GENUKI county pages or those of the appropriate FHS

Note that a number of pieces of the 1841 census have been lost.
The missing pieces and their coverage are detailed on this FindMyPast page.

PTV: indexes, transcripts, images for some counties are available from TheGenealogist

1851 Census - 2% Sample. An ESRC-sponsored research project led by Professor Michael Anderson at Edinburgh University transcribed a 2% sample of English and Welsh census records some years ago. Through a misunderstanding, they were placed on GENUKI for a short while in 1995, but immediately withdrawn when we were informed that Professor Anderson and the ESRC had not given, and would not give, permission for the results of his project to be made freely available. The fact that the original census records can now be freely copied, thanks to the changed TNA rules does not alter the fact that Professor Anderson and the ESRC have a right to refuse to allow their transcriptions to be copied. Unfortunately there are still web-site owners who disregard the owner's wishes and continue to make copies of the original 2% sample files available on-line. We strongly recommend the alternative legal copies of these files that can now be purchased on CD-ROM, for example from S&N Genealogy Supplies. These have been augmented from other sources and more fully validated, and are accompanied by some excellent search facilities.

1861 (7 April)

Some local indexes exist - see GENUKI county pages or those of the appropriate FHS

Note that a number of pieces of the 1861 census have been lost.
The missing pieces and their coverage are detailed on this FindMyPast page.